No laughing matter?
The second most commercially successful domestic film of all time in France, Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano’s 2011 comedy Intouchables thrusts issues of multiculturalism, humour, and political (in)correctness into the spotlight. The subject of polarized reviews, the film is at once progressive an...
Saved in:
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Liverpool University Press
2018-07-01
|
| Series: | Francosphères |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/10.3828/franc.2018.1 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849715499740430336 |
|---|---|
| author | Gemma King |
| author_facet | Gemma King |
| author_sort | Gemma King |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The second most commercially successful domestic film of all time in France, Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano’s 2011 comedy Intouchables thrusts issues of multiculturalism, humour, and political (in)correctness into the spotlight. The subject of polarized reviews, the film is at once progressive and conservative. On the one hand, it portrays cultural stereotyping, predatory sexual behaviour, and problematic representations of black and disabled characters as comedic devices. But on the other, in a revision of several cinematic tropes from the buddy comedy to le cinéma de banlieue, Intouchables subverts the traditional narrative of the immigrant struggling to integrate into the French mainstream. This article explores Intouchables’ representation of a Senegalese-born protagonist who seizes multiple opportunities for self-determination and social and physical mobility. Yet it also critiques how the film navigates – or fails to navigate – the challenges of political correctness in its conservative portrayal of multiculturalism in contemporary France. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-56e839ea46ec42ee8f071125023aac96 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2046-3820 2046-3839 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2018-07-01 |
| publisher | Liverpool University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Francosphères |
| spelling | doaj-art-56e839ea46ec42ee8f071125023aac962025-08-20T03:13:22ZengLiverpool University PressFrancosphères2046-38202046-38392018-07-017111410.3828/franc.2018.1No laughing matter?Gemma King0The Australian National UniversityThe second most commercially successful domestic film of all time in France, Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano’s 2011 comedy Intouchables thrusts issues of multiculturalism, humour, and political (in)correctness into the spotlight. The subject of polarized reviews, the film is at once progressive and conservative. On the one hand, it portrays cultural stereotyping, predatory sexual behaviour, and problematic representations of black and disabled characters as comedic devices. But on the other, in a revision of several cinematic tropes from the buddy comedy to le cinéma de banlieue, Intouchables subverts the traditional narrative of the immigrant struggling to integrate into the French mainstream. This article explores Intouchables’ representation of a Senegalese-born protagonist who seizes multiple opportunities for self-determination and social and physical mobility. Yet it also critiques how the film navigates – or fails to navigate – the challenges of political correctness in its conservative portrayal of multiculturalism in contemporary France.http://www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/10.3828/franc.2018.1French cinemaIntouchablescontemporary filmmulticulturalismimmigrationcinéma français |
| spellingShingle | Gemma King No laughing matter? Francosphères French cinema Intouchables contemporary film multiculturalism immigration cinéma français |
| title | No laughing matter? |
| title_full | No laughing matter? |
| title_fullStr | No laughing matter? |
| title_full_unstemmed | No laughing matter? |
| title_short | No laughing matter? |
| title_sort | no laughing matter |
| topic | French cinema Intouchables contemporary film multiculturalism immigration cinéma français |
| url | http://www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/10.3828/franc.2018.1 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT gemmaking nolaughingmatter |